When customers send you testimonials, email you compliments and criticisms, or post reviews to your social media pages… what exactly do you do with them?

There are only a few options, really. If they’re bad reviews, you can cry and moan and beat yourself up over them; if they’re positive, you can give yourself a pat on the back and feel good about your achievement. Or, you can do something more constructive. You can understand that these reviews are potentially useful as consumer-created content—great for use on your website, social media channels, email newsletter, and so forth.

Of course, all of this is contingent on you asking the customer’s permission to use their words, and them granting it. This important step shouldn’t be skipped, though it’s something close to a formality: It is unlikely that many customers will decline.

Once permission is granted, you can put those reviews to practical use in one of several ways:

Obviously, you can place positive reviews on your company website. Your website is your virtual storefront; a brick-and-mortar store might gain credibility and generate trust by displaying awards and certificates on its front window, and in the same way you might earn trust by displaying your reviews. A dedicated “testimonials” page is practical if you have multiple reviews to post, but you might also weave short snippets of your reviews into the ‘About’ page, the home page, and so forth.

You can also share them on social media. We do this at Grammar Chic; every couple of weeks or so we’ll turn a review quote into a graphic and share it to Facebook, Google+, and so on. This is a great way to get them seen by current customers, past customers, and future customers alike.

You might think about including reviews or review snippets in your email signatures, or even on invoices and receipts—but you’ll probably want to keep them brief.

The same goes with your monthly newsletter or email blast—though you’ll want to make sure you’re not using the same review every month. Switch it up!

This last one may be the most important suggestion of all, and it’s this: You should most certainly be using your positive reviews on outreach materials sent to prospects and leads—direct mailers and brochures, digital or printed on good old-fashioned paper. Again, it’s all about building trust—and what is a customer review, really, if not a seal and signifier that you’re trustworthy?

Often, we hear from business owners who say they have a hard time creating content. Well, your customer reviews make for great content—and you don’t even have to write it yourself! For more insights into how to use your reviews widely, contact us today: Visit www.grammarchic.net or call 804-831-7444.

Grammar Chic, Inc. is a full-service content writing company that publishes The Red Ink, a collection of informative articles pertaining to professional editing and writing services, writing and editing techniques, and brand management tactics. For more information about Grammar Chic, Inc. and the services that it offers visit www.grammarchic.net.